Related

Vancouver will open its Olympic lanes and shut down the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts to all traffic later this week, putting more pressure on the city's already crowded arteries unless more commuters leave their cars at home.

And judging by the city's recent TravelSmart trial runs, it appears the city still has its work cut out to convince drivers to take transit, cycle or walk to work during the 2010 Winter Games. In its fourth trial run last Friday, the city saw only a four per cent drop in traffic into Vancouver's downtown core — up to 13 per cent during the morning rush — despite a lofty 20 per cent goal.

It is now pushing to cut traffic by 25 per cent this Friday, the day it closes the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts to all traffic, pedestrians and cyclists.

Dale Bracewell, the city's director of Olympic operations, said commuters who insist on driving to work Friday will likely experience congestion on the Cambie and Granville bridges, especially with closures around BC Place and GM Place in effect.

"That is the most significant major road closure that we have," he said Tuesday. "We are concerned when it comes to the vehicle numbers. You don't want to be thinking of taking an alternate route; you really should be thinking of getting on transit or walking and cycling."

The viaduct closures will occur a day after the 170 Olympic lanes — set for the curb lanes on routes such as Cambie, Granville, Hastings and Broadway— come into effect, along with 24-hour parking restrictions along 650 city blocks.

With little more than a week before the Opening Ceremonies, both the city and Vanoc continue to harp on the public to start taking transit or cycle, walk and carpool as they close roads and restrict parking to cut traffic by 30 per cent. They are also urging them to avoid travel during the peak hours of 7 a.m.-9 a.m. and 2 p.m.-7 p.m.

The viaduct closures, coupled with other major road shutdowns already in effect across the city, will mean the loss of 20 per cent of lanes in and out of Vancouver.

In addition, the Olympic lanes, which will be used for regular transit buses as well as buses carrying athletes, Vanoc officials, dignitaries, spectators and the media, will leave just two or three lanes available to the public.

About 150,000 people are expected to surge into downtown Vancouver daily during the 17-day event.

"We're getting ready for 30 per cent more trip demands coming into downtown. We know they can't all come by car," Bracewell said. "We think it's going to be best to plan ahead and take transit in terms of a more reliable trip.

"When people are thinking of driving, they have to remember there is no parking at the venues and a lot of our on-street parking won't be available."

The city has already closed major routes such as the area around the Olympic athletes' village, Pacific Boulevard east of the Cambie Bridge, ring roads around BC Place and GM Place, part of Renfrew Street at Hastings Racecourse and Canada Place and Waterfront Road around the Vancouver Convention Centre.

It is also restricting parking dozens of blocks from venues to protect on-street parking for residents to encourage transit use.

TransLink expects a 20 per cent lift in ridership during the Games, which translates to about 960,000 trips daily. Only about 12 per cent of people who travel in Metro Vancouver now use transit for 800,000 rides per day.

TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie warned visitors and commuters could face waits of an hour or more for a bus or train at certain peak hours of the day, but noted the transportation authority will be running longer hours and will add a third SeaBus, 48 extra SkyTrain cars and 180 buses. The N10 NightBus will also run 24 hours.

Bracewell said more people are already taking transit and he expects more will jump on board once the Olympics start. During the Friday trials, he said, Canada Line has been reporting ridership of 122,000 while SeaBus has seen 20,000 daily riders. Cyclist numbers are also up across the False Creek bridges, he said, with 3,000 reported to be on the road last week.

The city has had to reroute several cycling lanes around the city, such as blocking off a path along Columbia Street between Keefer and Union and setting up detours along the popular Seaside route, such as around the Westin Bayshore. Cyclists will also have to share the east sidewalk with pedestrians on Quebec Street.

Pedestrians will continue to have access to most sidewalks and bridges except behind security zones, Bracewell said.

The city has been monitoring traffic patterns using its new Vancouver Transportation Operations Centre, which features large screens showing what's happening at various intersections around town, based on 30 cameras that can take different angles at the intersections.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Share

Vancouver drivers urged to forgo cars when viaducts close this week

Video

Today's News

Best of Postmedia

To steel himself for the year-long journey that began Wednesday, Jonathan Pitre has been going over the hard calculus that underpins his decision to pursue a high-risk, high-reward treatment in Minnesota

When he woke up in tears the morning after he had cried himself to sleep, Rohit Saxena knew what he had to do. Leaving his wife, Lesley, asleep in bed, Rohit went downstairs, opened his laptop and began to write. “They say your kids are your hearts outside your body,” he wrote. “I’ll always be […]

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.